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Highlights: A new type of metallacage was successfully fabricated and used as containers for hypocrellin-type photosensitizers, which prevented the self-aggregation of photosensitizers in aqueous solution. The metallacage was also employed as an energy donor to promote the singlet oxygen generation ability via fluorescence resonance energy transfer, thereby achieving highly efficient photodynamic therapy. The development of supramolecular hosts which can efficiently encapsulate photosensitizers to improve the photodynamic efficacy holds great promise for cancer therapy. Here, we report two perylene diimide-based metallacages that can form stable host–guest complexes with planar conjugated molecules including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and photosensitizers (hypocrellin A). Such host–guest complexation not only prevents the aggregation of photosensitizers in aqueous environments, but also offers fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from the metallacage to the photosensitizers to further improve the singlet oxygen generation (ΦΔ = 0.66). The complexes are further assembled with amphiphilic polymers, forming nanoparticles with improved stability for anticancer study. Both in vitro and in vivo studies indicate that the nanoparticles display excellent anticancer activities upon light irradiation, showing great potential for cancer photodynamic therapy. This study provides a straightforward and effective approach for enhancing the photosensitivity of conventional photosensitizers via host–guest complexation-based FRET, which will open a new avenue for host–guest chemistry-based supramolecular theranostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Tantalum is widely used in electronic devices and is crucial for modern society; however, research on the tantalum flow in China was very limited and the scientific evidence for formulating targeted policies was insufficient. Stock and flow of tantalum in China were analyzed here, with its entire life cycle from 2011 to 2019, to reveal the key sectors of tantalum use and its recycling potential. Tantalum production in China was around 1000 t, rising rapidly from 2015 to 2019. Although China was one of the main tantalum producers, its tantalum supply was still heavily relied on other countries, 90% of tantalum concentrate was imported. China consumed 740 t tantalum in 2019, and automobile (224 t/a) and electronics (216 t/a) were the top-two sectors of tantalum use. Generation of post-use tantalum was 520.56 t in 2019, accounting for 42% of the primary production, indicating a great urban mining potential in China. The end-of-life recycling rate was only 10%, which was far below other strategic rare metals in China, due to inadequate recycling system. To promote tantalum recycling, it calls for establishing the source-separating system and "reserve bank" of post-use tantalum, as well as an innovative product design for better recycling tantalum resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycarboxylic acid dispersant has the advantages of good dispersion performance and environmental protection, and has a good application prospect in oil well cement. However, the current polycarboxylic acid dispersant has poor temperature resistance, which limits its application in high-temperature formation cementing. In this study, a polycarboxylic acid dispersant (NLPC) that can be applied to high-temperature cementing was synthesized by free radical copolymerization of monomer isoprenol polyoxyethylene ether, maleic acid, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid and N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone. The structure of NLPC was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The effects of NLPC on the fluidity, rheological properties, thickening time and mechanical strength of cement slurry at different temperatures were tested, and compared with the traditional sulfonated acetone-formaldehyde polycondensate (SAF) dispersant. The mechanism of dispersant and its effect on cement hydration behavior were systematically studied by total organic carbon, Zeta potential, particle size analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction analysis. The effect of dispersant on the microstructure of hardened cement was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. The results show that NLPC has excellent high temperature dispersion performance. At 150 °C, NLPC can significantly reduce the consistency coefficient of cement slurry, increase the fluidity index of cement slurry, significantly improve the rheological properties of cement slurry, and the paste has excellent thickening performance, and the initial consistency is lower than SAF. In addition, due to the good dispersion of cement particles by NLPC, the early mechanical strength of cement stone after solidification is also improved. The mechanism analysis shows that NLPC improves the dispersion performance of oil well cement slurry mainly through electrostatic repulsion and steric hindrance effect. In a word, NLPC overcomes the shortcomings of low efficiency and heavy pollution of SAF dispersant and the low applicable temperature of current polycarboxylic acid dispersant products, which is of great significance to ensure the smooth operation of high temperature deep well cementing and improve the cementing quality. Highlights: NLPC improves the temperature resistance of polycarboxylic dispersant. NLPC improves the rheological properties of oil well cement slurry at high temperature. The mechanism of NLPC is steric hindrance and electrostatic repulsion. NLPC has good compatibility with other oil well cement additives and has no adverse effect on the implementation of cementing engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ischemic stroke is a devastative nervous system disease associated with high mortality and morbidity rates. Unfortunately, no clinically effective neuroprotective drugs are available now. In ischemic stroke, S100 calcium-binding protein b (S100b) binds to receptor for advanced glycation end products (Rage), leading to the neurological injury. Therefore, disruption of the interaction between S100B and Rage can rescue neuronal cells. Here, we designed a peptide, termed TAT-W61, derived from the V domain of Rage which can recognize S100b. Intriguingly, TAT-W61 can reduce the inflammatory caused by ischemic stroke through the direct binding to S100b. The further investigation demonstrated that TAT-W61 can improve pathological infarct volume and reduce the apoptotic rate. Particularly, TAT-W61 significantly improved the learning ability, memory, and motor dysfunction of the mouse in the ischemic stroke model. Our study provides a mechanistic insight into the abnormal expression of S100b and Rage in ischemic stroke and yields an invaluable candidate for the development of drugs in tackling ischemic stroke. Key messages: S100b expression is higher in ischemic stroke, in association with a high expression of many genes, especially of Rage. S100b is directly bound to the V-domain of Rage. Blocking the binding of S100b to Rage improves the injury after ischemic stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-stroke depression (PSD) affects approximately one-third of stroke survivors, severely impacting general recovery and quality of life. Despite extensive studies, the exact mechanisms underlying PSD remain elusive. However, emerging evidence implicates proinflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interleukin-18, play critical roles in PSD development. These cytokines contribute to PSD through various mechanisms, including hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction, neurotransmitter alterations, neurotrophic factor changes, gut microbiota imbalances, and genetic predispositions. This review is aimed at exploring the role of cytokines in stroke and PSD while identifying their potential as specific therapeutic targets for managing PSD. A more profound understanding of the mechanisms regulating inflammatory cytokine expression and anti-inflammatory cytokines like interleukin-10 in PSD may facilitate the development of innovative interventions to improve outcomes for stroke survivors experiencing depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is a common complication characterized by impaired placental function and unfavorable pregnancy outcomes. This study aims to elucidate the expression pattern of miR-181d-5p in FGR placentas and explore its effects on trophoblast fusion. Methods: The expression pattern of miR-181d-5p in human FGR placentas were evaluated using qRT-PCR. Western blot, qRT-PCR, and Immunofluorescence analysis were performed in a Forskolin (FSK)-induced BeWo cell fusion model following the transfection of miR-181d-5p mimic or inhibitor. Potential target genes for miR-181d-5p were identified by screening miRNA databases. The interaction between miR-181d-5p and Luman/CREB3 Recruitment Factor (CREBRF) was determined through a luciferase assay. Moreover, the effect of CREBRF on BeWo cell fusion was examined under hypoxic conditions. Results: Aberrant up-regulation of miR-181d-5p and altered expression of trophoblast fusion makers, including glial cell missing 1 (GCM1), Syncytin1 (Syn1), and E-cadherin (ECAD), were found in human FGR placentas. A down-regulation of miR-181d-5p expression was observed in the FSK-induced BeWo cell fusion model. Transfection of the miR-181d-5p mimic resulted in the inhibition of BeWo cell fusion, characterized by a down-regulation of GCM1 and Syn1, accompanied by an up-regulation of ECAD. Conversely, the miR-181d-5p inhibitor promoted BeWo cell fusion. Furthermore, miR-181d-5p exhibited negative regulation of CREBRF, which was significantly down-regulated in the hypoxia-induced BeWo cell model. The overexpression of CREBRF was effectively ameliorated the impaired BeWo cell fusion induced by hypoxia. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that miR-181d-5p, which is elevated in FGR placenta, inhibited the BeWo cell fusion through negatively regulating the expression of CREBRF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EmbR, a substrate of pknH in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is related to the ethambutol (EMB) resistance. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between acetylation of pknH and the resistance of EMB mono-resistant Mtb. The EMB mono-resistant Mtb strain was constructed based on the MYCOTB and the Löwenstein–Jensen (LJ) proportion method. The growth kinetics was used to evaluate the bacterial growth. Escherichia coli, as the host of Mtb, was used for cloning and protein purification. Moreover, the immunoprecipitation was performed along with western blot to evaluate the EmbR phosphorylation and pknH acetylation. Each independent experiment was conducted in triplicate. EMB mono-resistant Mtb strain was successfully constructed according to the results of MIC values of 14 anti-Mtb drugs. The EMB resistant (ER) Mtb strain showed faster growth than the wild-type (WT) Mtb strain, and the difference was statistically significant. Moreover, pknH robustly phosphorylates EmbR, and pknH and acetylated pknH protein levels were downregulated in ER strain. The acetylation of pknH may reduce the phosphorylation of EmbR to inhibit the growth of Mtb strain. Enhancing the acetylation of pknH may be a promising method to inhibit the EMB resistance against Mtb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although engulfment is a hallmark of microglia function, fully validated platforms that facilitate high-throughput quantification of this process are lacking. Here, we present FEAST (Flow cytometric Engulfment Assay for Specific Target proteins), which enables interrogation of in vivo engulfment of synaptic material by brain resident macrophages at single-cell resolution. We optimize FEAST for two different analyses: quantification of fluorescent material inside live cells and of engulfed endogenous proteins within fixed cells. To overcome false-positive engulfment signals, we introduce an approach suitable for interrogating engulfment in microglia from perfusion-fixed tissue. As a proof-of-concept for the specificity and versatility of FEAST, we examine the engulfment of synaptic proteins after optic nerve crush and of myelin in two mouse models of demyelination (treatment with cuprizone and injections of lysolecithin). We find that microglia, but not brain-border associated macrophages, engulf in these contexts. Our work underscores how FEAST can be utilized to gain critical insight into functional neuro-immune interactions that shape development, homeostasis, and disease. When and how microglia engulf synapses and myelin is still unclear. Here, the authors provide a suite of flow cytometry-based approaches to quantify engulfment, paving the way for high-throughput assessment of microglial function in health and disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to their appealing three-dimensional structures and tunable photophysical properties, emissive metallacages have been widely applied in recognition and sensing, adsorption and separation, catalysis, etc. Recently, the application of emissive metallacages in biomedical fields has emerged as a hot research topic, because multiple biological functionalities can be facilely integrated into metallacage-based platforms to deliver different functions. In this review, the applications of emissive metallacages in bio-imaging, delivery and cancer theranostics are systematically summarized. The dilemmas and challenges of metallacage-based biomedical materials are also raised at the end of this review. We hope this review would provide some guidance for the construction of novel emissive metallacages with biological functions, and further advance the development of emissive metallacages as biomedical materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate assessment of human exposure to pollutants through the ingestion of dust and/or soil particles depends on a thorough understanding their rate of human ingestion. To this end, we investigated the load and size distribution patterns of dust/soil particles on the hands of three typical subpopulations, including preschoolers, college students, and security guards (outdoor workers). The geometric mean diameter of dust/soil particles on hands was observed to be 38.7 ± 11.2, 40.0 ± 12.1, and 36.8 ± 10.4 μm for preschoolers, college students, and security guards, respectively. The particle size distribution differed between subpopulations: Preschoolers were more exposed to fine particles, whereas security guards were exposed to more coarse particles. The geometric means of dust/soil particle loading on the hands were 0.126, 0.0163, and 0.0377 mg/cm2 for preschoolers, college students, and security guards, respectively. Males had statistically higher dust/soil particle loadings on hands than females, notably for preschoolers and college students; preschoolers with frequent hand contact with the bare ground had higher dust/soil particle loadings compared to those of peers in contact with commercial and residential grounds. The mean total dust/soil particle ingestion rate was estimated to be 245, 19.7, and 33.1 mg/day for preschoolers, college students, and security guards, respectively. Our estimates for college students and security guards are close to the consensus central-tendency values recommended by the U.S. EPA's Exposure Factor Handbook for American adults, whereas the estimates for children are much higher than the upper percentile values recommended for American children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the mechanism of resin toughening cement, epoxy resin (E-44) was hydrophilic modified by 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid (SEA) to improve its dispersibility in cement slurry, so as to improving the toughness of cement matrix. The chemical structure, dispersion and heat resistance of the prepared modified epoxy resin (WEY) were characterized by FTIR, contact angle, particle size and TG-DTG. The results showed that SEA was successfully grafted onto the main chain of epoxy resin and effectively improved its dispersion and heat resistance. Subsequently, the effect of WEY on the mechanical properties of silicate cement stone was investigated. We found that when WEY was added at 6%, the flexural strength of silicate cement stone increased by 43.8%, the elastic modulus decreased by 38.9% and the compressive strength increased by 26.6%, and the engineering properties met the requirements of field applications. XRD analysis showed that the addition of WEY did not cause the cement to produce new hydration products and did not affect the process of cement hydration reaction. SEM analysis showed that WEY can form a polymer film with certain toughness in the cement stone, which plays the role of connecting each hydration product and strengthening the structural stability of the cement stone, thus slowing down the stress concentration and inhibiting the development of cracks. Finally, the modified epoxy resin effectively improves the fracture toughness of silicate cement stone and increases its ability to resist external impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the serious strength decline of cement sheath at high temperature during steam flooding or steam stimulation in heavy oil reservoirs, a new fiber material xonotlite whisker was prepared and its effect of inhibiting the strength decline of cement stone at high temperature was studied. The xonotlite whisker was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis method with SiO2 powder as a silicon source and Ca(OH)2 as a calcium source. The xonotlite whiskers prepared by SEM, XRD, and TG analysis were fibrous with high crystallinity and thermal stability. This whisker material has a good inhibition effect on the decline of the high-temperature strength of cement stone. When the temperature is 290 °C, after adding a whisker, the compressive strength of ordinary sand cement stone is 20 MPa, and its 7 d strength decline rate is 37.8%, while the compressive strength of ordinary sand cement stone without a whisker is only 5 MPa, and the 7 d strength decline rate is as high as 77.4%. By 29Si NMR, XRD quantitative, and SEM analysis, the addition of xonotlite whiskers can promote more SiO2 to participate in hydration reaction, and produce more chain length and higher polymerization degree of C-S-H. At high temperatures, the increase of xonotlite content improves the structural compactness of cement stone. Xonotlite whisker cement stone does not show the 'grain coarsening' phenomenon, and the whisker maintains a needle shape, which effectively delays the development of micro-cracks in cement stone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Saccharum complex" is a hypothetical group of species, which is supposed to be involved in the origin of modern sugarcane, and displays large genomes and complex chromosomal alterations. The utilization of restricted parents in breeding programs of modern cultivated sugarcane has resulted in a genetic blockage, which controlled its improvement because of the limited genetic diversity. The use of wild relatives is an effective way to broaden the genetic composition of cultivated sugarcane. Due to the infrequent characterization of genomes, the potential of wild relatives is diffused in improving the cultivated sugarcane. To characterize the genomes of the wild relatives, the genome size and phylogenetic relationships among eight species, including Saccharum spontaneum, Erianthus arundinaceus, E. fulvus, E. rockii, Narenga porphyrocoma, Miscanthus floridulus, Eulalia quadrinervis, and M. sinensis were evaluated based on flow cytometry, genome surveys, K-mer analysis, chloroplast genome sequencing, and whole-genome SNPs analysis. We observed highly heterozygous genomes of S. spontaneum, E. rockii, and E. arundinaceus and the highly repetitive genome of E. fulvus. The genomes of Eulalia quadrinervis, N. porphyrocoma, M. sinensis, and M. floridulus were highly complex. Phylogenetic results of the two approaches were dissimilar, however, both indicate E. fulvus displayed closer relationships to Miscanthus and Saccharum than other species of Saccharum complex. Eulalia quadrinervis was more closely related to M. floridulus than M. sinensis; E. arundinaceus differ significantly from Miscanthus, Narenga, and Saccharum, but was relatively close to Erianthus. We proved the point of E. rockii and E. fulvus should not be classified as one genus, and E. fulvus should be classified as the Saccharum genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ceramic cores are widely used in investment casting, and ideal properties of cores are essential for high-quality castings. Under the circumstances requiring thick cores, solid cores are likely to encounter deformation and cracking defects due to the accumulation of shrinkage. Therefore, with the superiority of ceramic stereolithography in producing complex ceramic parts, hollow cores with lattice structures were designed and fabricated. The dimensional accuracy and properties of the green and sintered bodies were evaluated. Results show the dimensional accuracy of sintered cores is controlled within ±0.25 mm benefited from the precise green bodies. The mechanical properties are not obviously deteriorated. The bending strength reaches 11.94 MPa at room temperature and 12.87 MPa at 1,500 °C with a creep deformation of 0.345 mm. Furthermore, casting verifications prove that the hollow cores meet the requirements of investment casting. Smooth casting surfaces are obtained, at the same time, the core-removal efficiency is improved by over 3 times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydraulic simulation is one of the critical methods to research the filling mechanism of molten metal in the casting process. However, it only performs on test pieces with relatively simple structures due to the limitation of the preparation method. In this study, the method of photocuring additive manufacturing was used to prepare the complex casting mould from transparent photosensitive resin. The pouring test was carried out under different centrifugal conditions, and the filling process of the gating system, support bars and other positions in the vertical direction was recorded and analyzed. The experimental results show that the internal liquid level and the filling process of the test piece prepared by this method can be observed clearly. The angle between the liquid surface and the horizontal plane in the test piece gradually increases as the centrifugal rotational speed increases, which means the filling process is carried out from outside to inside at high rotational speed. The velocity of the fluid entering the runner increases with the increase of rotational speed, but the filling speeds is less affected by the centrifugal speed at other positions. The liquid flow is continuous and stable during the forward filling process, without splashing or interruption of liquid droplets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the influence of Al preflow on the uniformity of an aluminum nitride (AlN) nucleation layer grown on Si substrate has been investigated herein, finding that increasing the gas flow rate appropriately during the preflow of aluminum can greatly improve the uniformity of dislocations, as well as the crystal quality and surface morphology of the nucleation layer. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the AlN (102) plane in the center, half of the radius and the edge decreases from 826 arcsec/897 arcsec/1196 arcsec to 691 arcsec/738 arcsec/900 arcsec, respectively. Moreover, the sheet resistance uniformity of aluminum gallium nitride/gallium nitride (AlGaN/GaN) grown on the optimized AlN layer is reduced from 6.66% to 2.84%, which is a significant improvement and beneficial to the improvement of the performance of GaN-based devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve the problem that the low temperature leads to the slow development of cement strength in deepwater cementing, we prepared low-temperature early strength material of nano-C-S-H gel seed with sodium silicate nonahydrate and calcium nitrate tetrahydrate as raw materials. The chemical structure and elemental composition of nanometer C-S-H gel seed were characterized by FT-IR, EDS, XRD, SEM, and TEM. The effect of nanometer C-S-H gel seed on the early strength of cement at 5 °C was evaluated. The results showed that the nano-C-S-H gel seed is nanoscale and semi-crystalline form. Compared with blank cement, nano-C-S-H gel seed increased the compressive strength of cement by 2.6 MPa (8 h), which could significantly improve the early strength of cement. Finally, mechanistic analysis by XRD and SEM showed the nucleation effect and the adsorption effect of nano-C-S-H gel seed stimulated the reactivity of cement clinker at the low temperature, accelerating the hydration process of the cement slurry. The low-temperature early strength material of nano-C-S-H gel seed may have promising application in deepwater cementing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cement ring of the oil well will produce micro-cracks, which will cause channeling in the annulus, affecting actual production. Therefore, self-healing cement has great value in oil well applications. In this paper, using N, N-dimethylformamide as the catalyst, DL-malic acid and bromopropene as raw materials, the self-repairing material (CWS) was synthesized by suspension polymerization with dibenzoyl peroxide as an initiator at 60 °C in the water bath. CWS was characterized by FTIR (FTIR Spectromete) and NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer). The effect of CSW on self-healing performance of micro-cracks in cement stone is evaluated by fracture permeability and strength recovery rate. The results showed that the permeability of cement stone decreases by 97.5%, and the strength recovery rate is 92.7% after adding CWS, which can obviously improve the self-healing ability of cement paste and has good compatibility with cement stone. The mechanism of CWS promoting self-healing of cement stone was analyzed through a series of microscopic characterization. CSW can effectively improve the pore structure of cement, and the average recovery rate of cement stone porosity is 31.64%. When micro-cracks occur in the cement matrix and water is immersed, CWS can chelate Ca2+ ions in cement to form water-soluble chelates and migrate to pores or cracks and react with unhydrated cement to form insoluble acicular crystals such as C–S–H (Hydrated calcium silicate gel)to seal cracks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary cilia protrude from the apical surface of many cell types and act as a sensory organelle that regulates diverse biological processes ranging from chemo- and mechanosensation to signaling. Ciliary dysfunction is associated with a wide array of genetic disorders, known as ciliopathies. Polycystic lesions are commonly found in the kidney, liver, and pancreas of ciliopathy patients and mouse models. However, the pathogenesis of the pancreatic phenotype remains poorly understood. Chibby1 (Cby1), a small conserved coiled-coil protein, localizes to the ciliary base and plays a crucial role in ciliogenesis. Here, we report that Cby1-knockout (KO) mice develop severe exocrine pancreatic atrophy with dilated ducts during early postnatal development. A significant reduction in the number and length of cilia was observed in Cby1-KO pancreta. In the adult Cby1-KO pancreas, inflammatory cell infiltration and fibrosis were noticeable. Intriguingly, Cby1-KO acinar cells showed an accumulation of zymogen granules (ZGs) with altered polarity. Moreover, isolated acini from Cby1-KO pancreas exhibited defective ZG secretion in vitro. Collectively, our results suggest that, upon loss of Cby1, concomitant with ciliary defects, acinar cells accumulate ZGs due to defective exocytosis, leading to cell death and progressive exocrine pancreatic degeneration after birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Robotic distal gastrectomy (RDG) has been increasingly used for the treatment of gastric cancer in recent year. However, whether RDG could reduce the morbidity when compared to laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG) remains controversial. This study aimed to compare the morbidity and short-term surgical outcomes of RDG and LDG for gastric cancer and identify the related risk factors.Methods: Between March 2010 and August 2019, consecutive patients undergoing RDG or LDG (519 and 957 patients, respectively) at our institution were included in this study. Postoperative complications were stratified according to the Clavien-Dindo (C-D) classification. We performed one-to-one propensity score matching (PSM) analysis, and evaluated postoperative morbidity and short-term surgical outcomes in PSM 1032 patients undergoing RDG or LDG.Results: After PSM, the two groups were well-balanced. The mean blood loss of the RDG group was about 27 mL less than that of the LDG group (112.1 vs 139.0 mL, P < 0.001). The RDG group had more retrieved lymph nodes than that in the LDG group (32.7 v 30.2, P < 0.001). The RDG group showed a similar overall (9.9% vs 10.7%, P = 0.682), severe (2.7% vs 3.7%, P = 0.376), local (5.6% vs 5.2%, P = 0.783), and systemic complication rates (5.4% vs 6.0%, P = 0.688). There were no significant differences in mortality between the two groups (RDG 0% vs LDG 0.2%, P = 1.000). Subgroup analyses showed no significant differences in most stratified parameters. Age > 65 years and ASA III were identified as two major risk factors for complications.Conclusion: RDG could be a safe and feasible in treating gastric cancer compared to LDG. However, we did not observe significant reduction in postoperative complications of RDG compared with LDG, although the use of robotic system is assumed to provide a technically superior operative environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the influence of complex downhole conditions and inherent brittleness of cement, cement is easily broken, resulting in interlayer sealing failure. To solve this problem, basalt fiber is used to enhance the mechanical properties of cement paste. However, due to the weak adhesion between the fiber and the cement base, the excellent mechanical properties of the basalt fiber cannot be fully exerted. Therefore, the surface of the basalt fiber was modified. The basalt surface was treated by KH-550, the surface of basalt fiber was loaded with silica by the sol–gel method. The chemical structure and elemental composition of the basalt fiber were analyzed with IR and EDS, and the morphologies of the fiber surface and composite material were analyzed with SEM. The fiber monofilament is drawn to analyze the performance of the basalt fiber interface, and after modification, the bonding performance between the basalt interface and the cement is enhanced. The flexural strength and compressive strength of cement-based composites were tested. The results showed that the flexural strength and compressive strength of modified fiber cement were 27.7% and 25.2% higher than those of blank cement and 10.7% and 16.1% higher than those of the unmodified basalt fiber cement. The interface bonding performance between modified basalt fiber and cement matrix was enhanced. The analysis showed that the modified basalt fiber cement effectively improved the toughness of oil well cement and cementing quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antiplatelet agents may increase the risk of infections via suppressing platelet-mediated immune response. Here we assessed the contribution of clopidogrel versus aspirin to the development of pneumonia during an acute ischemic stroke admission. A retrospective cohort study was conducted of acute ischemic stroke patients who were admitted to our hospital from 2015 to 2018. Included patients received uninterrupted clopidogrel or aspirin therapy and did not take other antiplatelet agents throughout their stay. The interest outcome was development of pneumonia after stroke. Conditional logistic regression model after propensity score matching and adjusted logistic regression model were used to assess the impact of clopidogrel versus aspirin on post-stroke pneumonia. Among 1470 included patients, 1135 received aspirin and 335 received clopidogrel. Total 149 patients (10.1%) experienced pneumonia during the stroke hospitalization period. No difference was observed between clopidogrel cohort and aspirin cohort in the incidence of post-stroke pneumonia after propensity score matching (relative risk, 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65–1.65; P = 0.875). However, we found that clopidogrel was associated with increased risk of pneumonia compared with aspirin in minor stroke patients (adjusted odds ratio, 2.21; 95% CI 1.12–4.34; P = 0.021), and a statistically insignificant increase of pneumonia in diabetics (adjusted odds ratio, 1.94; 95% CI 0.96–3.94; P = 0.065). Compared with aspirin, clopidogrel is associated with increased pneumonia in minor stroke patients among who the interference of stroke-induced immunosuppression is minimized. Hence, aspirin may be a better choice for minor stroke patients in acute phase of ischemic stroke when pneumonia most frequently occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) is among the many types of gauges that can be used for structural health monitoring (SHM) of concrete structures. The bond strength between concrete and planted rebar plays an important role in the integrity of concrete structures strengthened by post-installed anchors. This paper presents a method to monitor the development of epoxy bond strength between concrete and a planted rebar by the EMI technique. Three concrete cubes each with a planted rebar were fabricated and used for a set of monitoring experiments. To conduct experiments, a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) patch was attached to the polished side surface of the planted rebar. During the monitoring test, conductance spectra signals from three PZT patches were acquired at the 0th, 20th, 40th, 60th, 80th, 100th, and 120th min of the experiment. Furthermore, a pull-out test was conducted on two concrete beams with three planted rebars each. The root mean square deviation (RMSD) and mean absolute percentage deviation (MAPD) were applied to compare instantaneous conductance signatures with the initial, baseline conductance signature across different frequency ranges to ascertain the growth of bond strength during the curing process of epoxy. The results of the monitoring experiments and the pull-out test demonstrate the effectiveness of EMI technique in monitoring bond strength development between concrete and planted rebars. The results also show potential application prospects of the EMI technique in the SHM of reinforced concrete structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3D culture of cells in designer biomaterial matrices provides a biomimetic cellular microenvironment and can yield critical insights into cellular behaviours not available from conventional 2D cultures. Hydrogels with dynamic properties, achieved by incorporating either degradable structural components or reversible dynamic crosslinks, enable efficient cell adaptation of the matrix and support associated cellular functions. Herein we demonstrate that given similar equilibrium binding constants, hydrogels containing dynamic crosslinks with a large dissociation rate constant enable cell force-induced network reorganization, which results in rapid stellate spreading, assembly, mechanosensing, and differentiation of encapsulated stem cells when compared to similar hydrogels containing dynamic crosslinks with a low dissociation rate constant. Furthermore, the static and precise conjugation of cell adhesive ligands to the hydrogel subnetwork connected by such fast-dissociating crosslinks is also required for ultra-rapid stellate spreading (within 18 h post-encapsulation) and enhanced mechanosensing of stem cells in 3D. This work reveals the correlation between microscopic cell behaviours and the molecular level binding kinetics in hydrogel networks. Our findings provide valuable guidance to the design and evaluation of supramolecular biomaterials with cell-adaptable properties for studying cells in 3D cultures. 3D culture systems can provide critical insights into cellular behaviour. Here, the authors study the binding timescale of dynamic crosslinks and the conjugation stability of cell-adhesive ligands in cell–hydrogel network interactions to evaluate the impact on stem cell behaviour, mechanosensing and differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignant cancer of the hematopoietic system. Although the effectiveness of arsenic compounds has been recognized and applied clinically, some patients are still found resistant to this chemotherapy. In this study, we investigated that a synthetic thyroid hormone analog (TA), 2-iodo-4-nitro-1-(o-tolyloxy) benzene, had a strong apoptosis effect on U937 cells. U937 cells were treated with TA, and examinted the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), dysfunction of mitochondria, expression of pro-apoptosis and anti-apoptosis, and cleavage of caspase-3 and Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Further, it is also evaluated that insight molecular mechanism and signaling pathways involved in the study. It is found that TA significantly induced apoptosis in U937 cells through production of ROS, dysfunction of mitochondria, and activation of caspase cascade. It was also observed that MAPK signaling pathway including ERK, JNK, and P38 signals are involved in the induction of apoptosis. Moreover, marked activation of autophagy and ER stress markers such as LC3, P62, Beclin1 and GRP78, CHOP were observed, respectively. Pretreatment with ER stress inhibitor tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) and autophagy inhibitor 3-Methyladenine (3-MA) have successfully attenuated and aggravated TA-induced apoptosis, respectively. We further confirmed the active involvement of ER stress and autophagy signals. In conclusion, TA induced apoptosis through ER stress and activation of autophagy, and the latter is not conducive to TA-induced cell death. Our results may provide a new insight into the strategic development of novel therapy for the treatment of AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "miR-181d-5p, which is upregulated in fetal growth restriction placentas, inhibits trophoblast fusion via CREBRF" published in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction & Genetics. The correction addresses an error in the information provided in the Materials and Methods section of the original article. The incorrect information pertains to the anti-CREBRF antibody used in the study, and the corrected information is provided. The correction has been made to the original article. The publisher, Springer Nature, maintains a neutral stance on jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. The article was authored by Georgia Pennarossa, Zhi-Hong Wu, Fang-Fang Li, Ling-Ling Ruan, Qian Feng, Shuang Zhang, Zhuo-Hang Li, Antonia Otoo, Jing Tang, Li-Juan Fu, Tai-Hang Liu, and Yu-Bin Ding. [Extracted from the article]

The shape of leading and trailing edges (LTEs) of a thin-walled blade is one of the key parameters that influence the performance of an aero-engine, and an exact evaluation of the shape is the basis to ensure machining quality. When the chord length of a blade is deviated, the actual position of LTEs deviates from the theoretical curve. However, considering the problem that chord length deviation couples with profile errors of LTEs, the deviation is introduced into the evaluation of profile errors with the standard iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm, which results in an inexact evaluation and affects the performance of the aero-engine. To address this issue, a novel method that exactly evaluates profile errors of LTEs is proposed. Firstly, a data pre-transformation function is introduced into the standard ICP algorithm to separate the relationship between the chord length deviation and profile errors of LTEs. Secondly, a data preprocessing optimization model is established with the constraints of chord length tolerance and camber curve, which can ensure the trend of the blade and the continuity of measuring data. Thirdly, the model is solved by the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. Finally, this method is applied to the evaluation of profile errors of LTEs of an open blisk using simulation and experimental data to verify its availability. The results show that the proposed method can eliminate the adverse effect of chord length deviation and realize the exact evaluation of the profile errors of LTEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional retrieval and neural network methods are used simultaneously to retrieve sea surface wind speed (SSWS) from HH-polarized Sentinel-1 (S1) SAR images. The Polarization Ratio (PR) models combined with the CMOD5.N Geophysical Model Function (GMF) is used for SSWS retrieval from the HH-polarized SAR data. We compared different PR models developed based on previous C-band SAR data in HH-polarization for their applications to the S1 SAR data. The recently proposed CMODH, i.e., retrieving SSWS directly from the HH-polarized S1 data is also validated. The results indicate that the CMODH model performs better than results achieved using the PR models. We proposed a neural network method based on the backward propagation (BP) neural network to retrieve SSWS from the S1 HH-polarized data. The SSWS retrieved using the BP neural network model agrees better with the buoy measurements and ASCAT dataset than the results achieved using the conventional methods. Compared to the buoy measurements, the bias, root mean square error (RMSE) and scatter index (SI) of wind speed retrieved by the BP neural network model are 0.10 m/s, 1.38 m/s and 19.85%, respectively, while compared to the ASCAT dataset the three parameters of training set are −0.01 m/s, 1.33 m/s and 15.10%, respectively. It is suggested that the BP neural network model has a potential application in retrieving SSWS from Sentinel-1 images acquired at HH-polarization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the hybrid β-Ga2O3 Schottky diodes were fabricated with PEDOT:PSS as the anode. The electrical characteristics were investigated when the temperature changes from 298 K to 423 K. The barrier height ϕb increases, and the ideality factor n decreases as the temperature increases, indicating the presence of barrier height inhomogeneity between the polymer and β-Ga2O3 interface. The mean barrier height and the standard deviation are 1.57 eV and 0.212 eV, respectively, after taking the Gaussian barrier height distribution model into account. Moreover, a relatively fast response speed of less than 320 ms, high reponsivity of 0.6 A/W, and rejection ratio of R254 nm/R400 nm up to 1.26 × 103 are obtained, suggesting that the hybrid PEDOT:PSS/β-Ga2O3 Schottky barrier diodes can be used as deep ultraviolet (DUV) optical switches or photodetectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the characteristics of a prehistoric giant landslide and ascertaining its relationship with palaeo-seismic events could provide useful information on the role of regional tectonic activities in hillslope evolution. Here, a giant palaeoseismic landslide (GPSL), namely, the Luanshibao (LSB) landslide, located on the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, was investigated to ascertain its characteristics and occurrence age. The relationship between occurrence age and palaeoseismic episodes was also discussed by using 14C dating on the adjacent active faults, including the regional Yidun-Litang-Dewu (YD-LT-DW) fault zone, which crossed the LSB landslide. The dating of multiple samples acquired from palaeo-seismic trenches revealed that at least 5 palaeo-seismic episodes had occurred in the vicinity of the LSB landslide over the last 5000 years. The occurrence age of the LSB landslide (3635 ± 387 a BP) coincides with palaeo-seismic episode I, and the LSB landslide is convincingly inferred to have been triggered during episode I, which reached a seismic intensity (Chinese scale) of at least degree VII near the LSB landslide during failure. The timing of a second reactivation phase coincides with palaeo-seismic episode IV, which occurred at 2100–2200 a BP. The study could provide reference for studying the regional palaeoseismic activities and palaeo landslide evolution near the Litang area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a group of heterogeneous cells derived from immature myeloid cells (IMCs). MDSCs are known to play important roles in tumor immune evasion. While we know that there are a large number of circulating and tumor-infiltrating MDSCs existing in gastric cancer (GC) patients, the phenotypic characteristics and arginase 1 (ARG1) expression levels of these MDSCs remain very unclear. In our study, flow cytometric analysis of circulating MDSCs from 20 gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC) patients found that ≥80% ARG1-expressing MDSCs were mainly early-stage MDSCs (HLA-DR−CD33+CD14−CD15−MDSCs). In addition, our investigation showed that tumor-infiltrating MDSCs from 6 GAC patients consisted of >35% ARG1-expressing naïve MDSCs (HLA-DR−CD33−CD11b−CD14−CD15−MDSCs), >15% early-stage MDSCs and >40% monocytic MDSCs (HLA-DR−CD14+MDSCs). This preliminary study describes the phenotypic characteristics and ARG1 expression levels of MDSCs from GAC patients and shows that circulating and tumor-infiltrating ARG1-expressing cells were mainly immature and monocytic MDSCs, which provides information to better understand the mechanisms that allow gastric cancer cells to evade the immune system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fillet is a typical transitional form for a region with a common edge between combinatorial surfaces of blisk parts, and the processing quality of that has a strong influence on the aerodynamic performances of the parts. As a special type, the incomplete fillet is generated due to missing data of the combinatorial surfaces, which is not tangent to the combinatorial surfaces. For machining the clean-up region with incomplete fillet, the planned tool path using the conventional method may result in excess residual material, which will affect the part performance. To address this issue, a novel clean-up tool path planning method based on the cutter center point of the fillet boundary is proposed. In this paper, the method constructs a mapping model from a point on the fillet boundary to the cutter center point. The model is solved with a point-searching algorithm so that the tool path of the fillet boundary can be calculated. Then, the region between the adjacent tool path of the fillet boundary is equivalent to circular curve for planning the clean-up tool path. Finally, this method is applied to the clean-up machining between the blade and hub of an open blisk using a computational simulation and experiment to verify its effectiveness. The results show that the maximum allowance is 0.311 mm with the conventional method, whereas it is approximately 0 mm with the proposed method, which satisfies the design requirement. Thus, the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method are validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Linear ubiquitination is a critical regulator of inflammatory signaling pathways. However, linearly ubiquitinated substrates and the biological significance of linear ubiquitination is incompletely understood. Here, we show that STAT1 has linear ubiquitination at Lys511 and Lys652 residues in intact cells, which inhibits STAT1 binding to the type-I interferon receptor IFNAR2, thereby restricting STAT1 activation and resulting in type-I interferon signaling homeostasis. Linear ubiquitination of STAT1 is removed rapidly by OTULIN upon type-I interferon stimulation, which facilitates activation of interferon-STAT1 signaling. Furthermore, viruses induce HOIP expression through the NF-κB pathway, which in turn increases linear ubiquitination of STAT1 and thereby inhibits interferon antiviral response. Consequently, HOIL-1L heterozygous mice have active STAT1 signaling and enhanced responses to type-I interferons. These findings demonstrate a linear ubiquitination-mediated switch between homeostasis and activation of type-I interferon signaling, and suggest potential strategies for clinical antiviral therapy. LUBAC is involved in adding linear ubiquitin chains to important immune signaling proteins. Here the authors show that this mechanism is effective in inhibiting STAT1-mediated interferon signaling, and that the deubiquitinase OTULIN can remove these linear ubiquitins from STAT1 to reactivate this antiviral signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactions between human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection and environmental factors can increase susceptibility to essential hypertension (EH). Although endothelial dysfunction is the initial factor of EH, the epigenetic mechanisms through which HCMV infection induces endothelial cell dysfunction are poorly understood. Here, we evaluated whether HCMV regulated endothelial cell function and assessed the underlying mechanisms. Microarray analysis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) treated with HCMV AD169 strain in the presence of hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia revealed differential expression of genes involved in hypertension. Further analyses validated that the regulator of G-protein signaling 5 (RGS5) gene was downregulated in infected HUVECs and showed that HCMV infection promoted HUVEC proliferation, whereas hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia inhibited HUVEC proliferation. Additionally, treatment with decitabine (DAC) and RGS5 reversed the effects of HCMV infection on HUVEC proliferation, but not triggered by hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia. In summary, upregulation of RGS5 may be a promising treatment for preventing HCMV-induced hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decade, robust principal component analysis (RPCA) and low-rank matrix completion (LRMC), as two very important optimization problems with the view of recovering original low-rank matrix from sparsely and highly corrupted observations or a subset of its entries, have already been successfully adopted in image denoising, video processing, web search, biological information, etc. This paper proposes an efficient and effective algorithm, named the alternating direction and step size minimization (ADSM) algorithm, which employs the alternating direction minimization idea to solve the general relaxed model that can describe small noise (e.g., Gaussian noise). The coupling of sparse noise and small noise makes low-rank matrix recovery more challenging than that of RPCA. We make use of Taylor expansion, singular value decomposition and shrinkage operator as the alternating direction minimization method to deduce iterative direction matrices. A continuous technology is incorporated into ADSM to accelerate convergence. Similarly, the Taylor expansion and step size minimization (TESM) algorithm for LRMC is designed by the above way, but the alternating direction minimization idea needs to be ruled out since there is not a sparse matrix in it. Theoretically, it is proved that the two algorithms globally converge to their respective optimal points based on some conditions. The numerical results are reported, illustrating that ADSM and TESM are quite efficient and effective for recovering large-scale low-rank matrix problems at many cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, β-Ga2O3 films are obtained by the RF magnetron sputtering method. Effects of the growth pressure on properties of the deposited β-Ga2O3 films and the corresponding solar-blind metal–semiconductor–metal photodetectors are investigated systematically. It is shown that when the deposition pressure increases, the full width at half maximum of β-Ga2O3 2 ¯ 01 X-ray diffraction peaks decreases firstly and then increase. The peak intensities increase firstly, reach a maximum at 25 mTorr and then decrease with increasing pressure. The similar variation tendency is also reflected on the bandgap, oxygen vacancy and roughness of β-Ga2O3 films. It is supposed that all these properties depend on two factors: atoms diffusion ability and the defects with growth pressure. By controlling the growth pressure, the fabricated interdigitated solar-blind photodetectors exhibit excellent characteristics, including a large spectral responsivity (303 A/W), a low dark current (10pA at 20 V), a large photo-to-dark current ratio (> 105), a high external quantum efficiency (over 1 × 105%) and a fast response speed (rise time: 0.52 s and fall time: 0.12 s). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accurate determination of widespread artificial sweeteners (ASs) and the information of their distributions in environments are of significance to investigate the environmental behaviors. This paper firstly reviews the typical analytic methodologies for ASs and the main influencing factors during the analytic processes. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) with LC-ESI-MS is currently the leading-edge method. However, the efficiency and accuracy for ASs analysis in environmental samples are also dependent on the SPE cartridges, buffers and pH, matrix effects, and sample stability. A basic procedure for ASs determination in different environmental samples is proposed. The current occurrences of ASs in environments are then evaluated. The ASs, especially the acesulfame and sucralose, are widely detected in various environmental medium. The concentrations of investigated ASs are generally in the order of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) influent > WWTPs effluent > surface water > groundwater > drinking water; and atmosphere > soil. The ASs levels in the environment exhibit significant differences among different regions. Further analysis indicates that the phenomenon is highly correlated with the consumption patterns and the removal efficiency of WWTPs in a specific country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dihydromyricetin (DMY) is a traditional herbal medicine, with a wide range of biological activities. Extreme hyperthermia (HT) can suppress the immune system; thus, protection of the immune system is beneficial in heat-related diseases, including heatstroke. In our study, we revealed the protective effect of DMY against HT-induced apoptosis and analysed the underlying molecular mechanisms. We incubated human myelomonocytic lymphoma U937 cells at 44 °C for 30 min with or without DMY and followed by further incubation for 6 h at 37 °C. Cell viability was determined by the CCK-8 assay. DMY did not cause any cytotoxic effects in U937 cells even at high doses. HT treatment alone induced significant apoptosis, which was detected by DNA fragmentation and Annexin V/PI double staining. Mitochondrial dysfunction was identified by loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) during heat stimulation. Apoptotic related proteins were involved, truncated Bid and caspase-3 were upregulated, and Mcl-1 and XIAP were downregulated. We also identified the related signalling pathways, such as the MAPK and PI3K/AKT pathways. However, changes in HT were dramatically reversed when the cells were pretreated with DMY before exposure to HT. Overall, MAPKs and PI3K/AKT signalling, mitochondrial dysfunction, and caspase-mediated pathways were involved in the protective effect of DMY against HT-induced apoptosis in U937 cells, which was totally reversed by DMY pretreatment. These findings indicate a new clinical therapeutic strategy for the protection of immune cells during heatstroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the advantages of nondestructive and noninvasive technique, high stability and continuity, currently, the low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyzing and testing technology (low-field NMR) has been used to characterize the initial hydration process of cement slurry system. As a kind of cement-based material, class G oil-well cement has been widely used in various cementing operations, and the basic research of class G oil-well cement has aroused wide attention. Simultaneously, microfine cement plays an increasingly important role as reinforcing material, especially in the cementing operation of low-temperature formation. Besides, the main advantage of Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) technique with other spin echo techniques is that it allows rapid multiple accumulations of the echo train signal—an important issue in increasing the detection sensitivity at low fields. Therefore, during this study, the initial hydration process of class G oil-well cement and microfine cement was characterized by the values and distribution ranges of the time constants T2i [the attenuation of the function of the transverse magnetization 2 (t) was measured by means of CPMG pulse sequence, normalized to an initial value 2(0) = 1, and decomposed into a sum of exponential functions 2 (t) = Σ pi exp (− t/T2i) with the fractions Σ pi = 1]. As a result, it was confirmed that the low-field NMR has a great advantage in the characterization of early hydration reaction of cement-based material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, (Al1−0.02−xSi0.02Tix)2Oy (x = 0.2, 0.9 and 2%) thin films were prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates using sol-gel technique. The dielectric properties of undoped and Si-Ti co-doped Al2O3 thin films were investigated. The leakage current of (Al0.971Si0.02Ti0.009)2Oy thin film is reduced by 2 orders of magnitude compared with Al2O3 film. Meanwhile, the modified sample exhibits the ultrahigh energy density of 14.01 J/cm3 under the breakdown strength of 647 MV/m, which is an enhancement of 11.26 J/cm3 over that of the undoped Al2O3 film. The improvement of dielectric properties is ascribed to the forming of Al-O-Si, Al-O-Ti bonds and the anodic oxidation of Ti3+, which could strengthen the stability of Al2O3 structure and self-repair the defects of the films under applied electric field. Another reason is that cation vacancies generated by Si-Ti co-doping could effectively prevent the formation of oxygen vacancies and decrease the breakdown probability of the films. This work provides a promising route to dielectric thin films materials for electrical energy storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1,4-Dioxane is an emerging pollutant, which widely exists in natural environments and poses potential risks to the living organisms. However, its effect on the denitrification process is still unknown. In this study, the effects of 1,4-dioxane on the denitrification process were therefore investigated by using Paracoccus denitrificans as the model denitrifier. The obtained results showed that the exposure of 1,4-dioxane exhibited remarkable lag or inhibition on the denitrification process, especially with high dose. In the control without 1,4-dioxane exposure, Paracoccus denitrificans showed high denitrification efficiency (98.5%). However, the efficiency decreased to 78.5, 63.9, and 9.3% with 0.50, 0.75, and 1.0% (v/v) 1,4-dioxane dose, respectively. The dose-induced inhibition of denitrification by 1,4-dioxane could be partially attributed to the negative effects on proliferation and viability of functional microorganisms by conjugating and disrupting the cell membranes. Furthermore, 1,4-dioxane caused biotoxicity to the intracellular activities of denitrifiers via disturbing carbon source utilization and interfering the key enzymes responsible for glycolysis. The decrease of microbial viability and activity inevitably resulted in the decline of key enzymes (NAR, NIR, NOR, and N2OR) closely related with denitrification process, which could be the direct reason for the decrease of denitrification performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

They found that there are lots of areas with low sea ice concentration south of 78°N, while sea ice concentration and thickness increase with the latitude to north of 78°N. Qin et al. (2021) retrieved the sea surface wind speed from Sentinel-1 SAR images using conventional retrieval and machine learning methods. Editorial Improving the observation and prediction capabilities for Arctic marine environment: from the perspective of Arctic Shipping Hui Wang 1, Qizhen Sun 1 *, Lin Zhang 1, Xi Liang 1, Qinghua Yang 2, Na Liu 1, Chunhua Li 1, Qingsheng Liu 3, Bingrui Li 4, Qian Feng 5, Xiao Cheng 6, Yi Yu 7 1 National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Beijing 100081, China 2 School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China 3 Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China 4 Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200136, China 5 National Satellite Ocean Application Service, Beijing 100081, China 6 School of Geospatial Engineering and Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China 7 Donghai Navigation Safety Administration, Ministry of Transport, Shanghai 200086, China Received 5 December 2020; accepted 31 December 2020 © Chinese Society for Oceanography and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021 In recent decades, Arctic climate is warming at a rate of almost twice the global average (Osborne et al., 2018). Numerical prediction models for weather, sea ice, and ocean of the Arctic need to be developed, so that short-term forecasts and mid- and long-term predictions can be provided. [Extracted from the article]

IL-35 has been identified as a novel anti-inflammatory cytokine that belongs to the IL-12 cytokine family and has been verified to play a protective role in autoimmune diseases. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of IL-35 on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in a middle cerebral artery occlusion mouse model. We determined that the expression of IL-35 was initially decreased and subsequently increased in I/R injury. Moreover, IL-35 (i.c.v.) pre- and posttreatment significantly reduced the infarct volume and improved neurological deficits after 45 min of ischemia and 24 h of reperfusion. Importantly, IL-35 treatment improved neurological function recovery, particularly in balance ability, at 14 days after treatment. Finally, our results showed that IL-35 treatment reduced the expression of IL-6 and IL-1β, which are confirmed proinflammatory cytokines, thus indicating that these cytokines have both been linked to the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of IL-35. Therefore, IL-35 may be a key immune mediator in brain ischemic injury and appears to have promising potential for clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]